Halley`s Sighting Possibly State`s 1st

November 7, 1985|By Robert McClure, Staff Writer

For stargazers with a trained eye and the proper equipment, Halley`s comet already is making its appearance in Palm Beach County. But for now, the once- in-a-lifetime phenomenon is just ``a little smudge`` in the sky, astronomers say.

Comet Halley, which appears once every 76 years, will be visible to the naked eye, in its full glory with its tail extended, by April, astronomers say. But Tom Hoffelder of Jupiter couldn`t wait that long to spot the intergalactic traveler.

Hoffelder became the first person in the county to sight the comet Oct. 12, when he rose at 5 a.m.

His sighting may have been the first in the state. But it did not come to light until astronomers at the Gibson Observatory in West Palm Beach saw the comet Monday night, said Gary Bogner, director of the observatory.

``It was just a small fuzzy spot,`` Hoffelder, 38, said of his first sighting.

``I knew it wasn`t a star, but it could have been a nebula (cloud of dust and gas) or a (star) cluster. It wasn`t until I went back the next morning to check to see if it had moved that I knew it was the comet,`` he said.

Very few people who saw the comet in 1910, when it last appeared, are still alive. But charts marked the place to look for people like Bogner, Hoffelder and Gregory Zentz, president of the Astronomy Club of the Palm Beaches.

Bogner and Zentz confirmed that Hoffelder was apparently the first person in the county to spot the returning comet.

Zentz said he used a telescope to catch a glimpse of the comet 10 days after Hoffelder.

``It`s just a little diffuse smudge at this point,`` Zentz said Wednesday. ``I saw it last night with binoculars. It was clear to me.``

Amateur stargazers like Hoffelder, a Pratt & Whitney engineer, should be able to see the comet with telescopes now.

``The people with telescopes have a fighting chance of seeing it, at least in the next two weeks until the moon interferes,`` said Ed Sobey, director of the Science Museum of Palm Beach County.

The comet can now be seen, at about 10 p.m., in the eastern sky just south of east, about one-third of the way from the horizon to the point directly overhead, Sobey said.

It is not far from the constellations of Gemini and Orion, headed toward the Pleiades, a cluster of seven stars known as the Seven Sisters in the constellation of Taurus, he said.

The comet is now passing inside the orbit of Mars, and the sun`s heat has started to melt ice and dust that have gathered on the comet, Sobey said. It is the sun`s reflection off the ice and dust, not the comet itself, that stargazers see. The ice and dust also form the tail behind the comet.

Although there are signs a tail is forming, it is not yet visible because the comet is headed straight at the earth, astronomers said.

As 1986 progresses, however, the comet will make its way past the earth and the sun, and the tail will appear to be the length of several moons joined together, astronomers said.

Comet-gazing will become less easy as the moon turns full later this month. The next good viewing period will be in early December, about the 3rd to the 6th, and the comet probably will become visible to the naked eye by February, astronomers said.

Hoffelder`s sighting could be the first in the state. Stargazers in Orlando first saw the comet Oct. 21, said Mike Murray, a spokesman for the Orlando Science Museum. Astronomers at Miami`s Space Transit Planetarium first saw it ``about three weeks ago,`` said planetarium director Jack Horkheimer.

COMET WATCH

(BU) The general public will have a chance to view Halley`s comet Friday at the Science Museum and Planetarium of Palm Beach County, 4801 Dreher Trail North, West Palm Beach.

The comet will become visible after 9 p.m. The observatory normally closes at 10 p.m. but will remain open later if there is a demand, museum officials said.

(BU) As the comet becomes more visible in coming weeks, the observatory may open to the public on Thursday or Sunday nights as well as Fridays.

The planetarium is near Summit Boulevard and Interstate 95. Take I-95 to Belvedere Road or Southern Boulevard. For information, call 832-1988.